Applanation tonometers have advantages over indentation and air puff tonometers, and applanation tonometers are available in several forms. They all require skillful operation to obtain consistent readings, and there has not yet been an applanation tonometer that is automatic enough to eliminate user skill as a variable. Present applanation tonometers also consume some operating time and require some subjective judgments in making readings, so that a truly automatic tonometer ought to operate faster and more reliably.
Our applanation tonometer is made to solve these problems and to operate rapidly in a truly automatic way so that pressure readings will not vary with user skill. We have also made our tonometer portable so that it can be used anywhere a pressure reading is desired. We have included a microprocessor in our tonometer so that it can calculate pressure readings, compare successive readings, store readings, communicate with a computer, and display pressure readings and related patient data. We have also made our tonometer usable in any orientation or attitude, whether mounted or hand held.